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FREEDOM AND FAIRNESS
n Mmntmm 1
Vol.107 Issue 11
TheFoghornOnJine.com
am
November 17, 2010
NEWS
Vice Provost Gerardo Marin
clarifies confusion surrounding
ethnic and racial survey;
Pg-2
OPINION
■If ■
Student Alia Al-Sharif feels
"Rift" review missed the
point; pg. 4
SCENE
Scene Editor prepares you for
making the most of the holidays
at school; pg. 6
SPORTS
Dons kickoff season
with a win;
pg. 10
FOGHORN ONLINE
Visit the website to see photos
from the Dons recent win over
Seattle University!
SAN FRANCISCO FOGHORN
Courtesy of Shawn Calhoun
The attendees of a recent event on campus reflect the diversity in ethnicity of the population of students at USF.
Are You A Non-Resident Alien?
Foghorn investigates the alarming citizenship-status question and the controversy
behind the new ethnic and racial categories as defined by the federal government
FATIMA DURAN
ERICKA MONTES
Staff Writer
During an October afternoon,
international student Fior Calvo
logged into her USF Connect account to check her student balance.
Upon clicking the Student Tab, she
was startled by a survey question that
immediately popped up, asking "Are
you a non-resident alien?"
Calvo, a junior who transferred
from the Universidad Centroameri-
cana in El Salvador to study economics, said she thought to herself,
"Why do I have to answer this if I already answered this when I applied?"
Calvo was in her Loyola Village
apartment when she came across
the puzzling survey, which only provided the option to submit "YES" or
"NO." Without an exit button on
the screen, she felt obliged to provide
an answer.
According to the question, a nonresident alien is "a person who is not
a citizen or national of the United
States and who is in this country on
a visa or temporary basis and does
not have the right to remain indefinitely."
"If I say no am I legal?" she asked.
Confused, she contemplated between submitting yes or no, even
though she moved to the United
States in April 2009 after becoming
a legal resident. Still having trouble,
she turned to her roommate for help.
Calvo finally submitted "no." She
was instantly directed to the "What
is your ethnicity?" survey, sent to all
USF students and employees on Oct.
19. According to an email sent by
Rev. Stephen A. Privett, S.J. the day
before, the survey's purpose was to
update the ethnic and racial demographics of the USF community.
The email stated that "all organizations, including universities, are
asked by the federal government, accrediting associations, college guides,
newspapers, and our other organizations to describe the ethnic/racial
backgrounds of our students and
employees."
Senior Kendra Brazile read the
email when it was sent. "I know
they emailed us to tell us that they
will be asking us this information on
USF Connect," she said, "but I don't
recall reading about why. So I don't
think that they made that information readily available and I think that
would've helped."
The email did not indicate that
the survey is a requirement for the
Integrated Postsecondary Education
Data System (IPEDS), a data collection program that is part of the
National Center for Education Statistics. IPEDS mandates that all colleges, universities and technical and
vocational institutions in the U.S.
submit an annual report describing
their institution's enrollment, graduation rates, finances, tuition and fees,
student financial aid, and ethnic/racial demographics.
Most importantly, however, if
universities complete the surveys,
they are granted authorization to
receive federal financial aid. Failure
to submit this information results in
additional fines, as enforced by Title
IV of the Higher Education Act of
1965. The complete report is to be
submitted in the spring.
The main issue that boggled the
minds of students and employees,
however, was the initial question
posed before the actual ethnic and
racial survey—the question that
asked survey takers to disclose their
citizenship status, which the email
never acknowledged.
"For some people this is very personal information," Brazile said, "it
can be a touchy subject."
When sociology professor and director of African American Studies
Stephanie Sears first glanced at the
question, she said, "I was like Oh my
God, did USF lose its mind?"
"It made me stop and think," she
said.
Why was USF asking participants
to provide their citizenship status,
ethnicity and race? Why did these
implications matter? After questions
like these provoked dialogue around
campus, the Foghorn set out to explore these issues and the significance of ethnic and racial identity.
Will USF Report My
Residential Status to the
Federal Government?
Shortly after participating in
USF's teach-in on the ethnic studies
ban in Arizona, Sears was shocked
when she saw the question, "Are you
a non-resident alien?" posted on USF
Connect. She said, "Even though I
know the term upon first glance it
reads like, Are you undocumented,'
and then I said ok that is not what
SURVEY: Continued on Page 2
Committee to Appoint New Dean in December
JAMEY V. PADOJINO
Staff Writer
Interviews for the College of Arts
8c Sciences search for a new Dean
has ended, and the future of the
college is now in the hands of the
Search Committee and President
Rev. Stephen Privett, S.J. The interviews, which began at the last week
of October to the middle of November, gave students, faculty, and numerous committees within the college the opportunity to learn more
about the finalists and ask questions
about' their professional background.
Each finalist comes from a different
background, but all want to contribute towards achieving USF's mission.
Gerardo Marin, Search Committee
Chair, said, "We hope to announce
the decision in December."
Marcelo Camperi
Dr. Marcelo Camperi is currently
the Interim Dean for the College of
Arts & Sciences at USF. He is also
s professor in the Department of
Physics and Astronomy and received
his doctorate in Theoretical/Mathematical Physics at Boston University.
Collectively, Camperi has spent fourteen years at USF serving in multiple
committees, including the Provost
Council, the College Curriculum
Committee, and Council for Associate Deans. "I embrace the University's Jesuit and Catholic identity and
its vision for Social Justice and a humanistic education for its students,"
Camperi said, "I am extremely excited at the possibility of giving back
to the University as the Dean of the
College of Arts and Sciences." Camperi has spent his professional career
at USF and wants to see the university rank amongst the top 50 nationally ranked colleges. If appointed
Dean, Camperi would "strive for
rigor and excellence in our academic
programs and aggressively seek to
make diverse, high-caliber full-time
faculty and staff hires to support this
goal." Camperi would also continue
to support environmental justice and
sustainability throughout the school.
Nicola Pitchford
Dr. Nicola Pitchford is currently
the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Fordham University in New York City. She received
her doctorate from the University of
Wisconsin-Madison in Modern &
2130 FULTON STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 941 L
Contemporary US and British literature. Her current position gives
her authority over the school with
supervision of administration. She
is also Associate Professor for the
Department of English at Fordham.
"San Francisco provides a unique opportunity that is deeply rooted in the
city," Pitchford said, "There's something about California with the mixture of racial groups and landscape
that brings me back here." When
speaking about the position, Pitchford, "would be most effective at the
Dean level because I would be at the
front line between students and faculty." With USF, at the edge of the
Pacific Rim, Pitchford said, "we can
connect students to the community
whether it's local or global." She believes there are many opportunities
SEARCH: Continued on Page 4
NEWSROOM 415.422.6122

FREEDOM AND FAIRNESS
n Mmntmm 1
Vol.107 Issue 11
TheFoghornOnJine.com
am
November 17, 2010
NEWS
Vice Provost Gerardo Marin
clarifies confusion surrounding
ethnic and racial survey;
Pg-2
OPINION
■If ■
Student Alia Al-Sharif feels
"Rift" review missed the
point; pg. 4
SCENE
Scene Editor prepares you for
making the most of the holidays
at school; pg. 6
SPORTS
Dons kickoff season
with a win;
pg. 10
FOGHORN ONLINE
Visit the website to see photos
from the Dons recent win over
Seattle University!
SAN FRANCISCO FOGHORN
Courtesy of Shawn Calhoun
The attendees of a recent event on campus reflect the diversity in ethnicity of the population of students at USF.
Are You A Non-Resident Alien?
Foghorn investigates the alarming citizenship-status question and the controversy
behind the new ethnic and racial categories as defined by the federal government
FATIMA DURAN
ERICKA MONTES
Staff Writer
During an October afternoon,
international student Fior Calvo
logged into her USF Connect account to check her student balance.
Upon clicking the Student Tab, she
was startled by a survey question that
immediately popped up, asking "Are
you a non-resident alien?"
Calvo, a junior who transferred
from the Universidad Centroameri-
cana in El Salvador to study economics, said she thought to herself,
"Why do I have to answer this if I already answered this when I applied?"
Calvo was in her Loyola Village
apartment when she came across
the puzzling survey, which only provided the option to submit "YES" or
"NO." Without an exit button on
the screen, she felt obliged to provide
an answer.
According to the question, a nonresident alien is "a person who is not
a citizen or national of the United
States and who is in this country on
a visa or temporary basis and does
not have the right to remain indefinitely."
"If I say no am I legal?" she asked.
Confused, she contemplated between submitting yes or no, even
though she moved to the United
States in April 2009 after becoming
a legal resident. Still having trouble,
she turned to her roommate for help.
Calvo finally submitted "no." She
was instantly directed to the "What
is your ethnicity?" survey, sent to all
USF students and employees on Oct.
19. According to an email sent by
Rev. Stephen A. Privett, S.J. the day
before, the survey's purpose was to
update the ethnic and racial demographics of the USF community.
The email stated that "all organizations, including universities, are
asked by the federal government, accrediting associations, college guides,
newspapers, and our other organizations to describe the ethnic/racial
backgrounds of our students and
employees."
Senior Kendra Brazile read the
email when it was sent. "I know
they emailed us to tell us that they
will be asking us this information on
USF Connect," she said, "but I don't
recall reading about why. So I don't
think that they made that information readily available and I think that
would've helped."
The email did not indicate that
the survey is a requirement for the
Integrated Postsecondary Education
Data System (IPEDS), a data collection program that is part of the
National Center for Education Statistics. IPEDS mandates that all colleges, universities and technical and
vocational institutions in the U.S.
submit an annual report describing
their institution's enrollment, graduation rates, finances, tuition and fees,
student financial aid, and ethnic/racial demographics.
Most importantly, however, if
universities complete the surveys,
they are granted authorization to
receive federal financial aid. Failure
to submit this information results in
additional fines, as enforced by Title
IV of the Higher Education Act of
1965. The complete report is to be
submitted in the spring.
The main issue that boggled the
minds of students and employees,
however, was the initial question
posed before the actual ethnic and
racial survey—the question that
asked survey takers to disclose their
citizenship status, which the email
never acknowledged.
"For some people this is very personal information," Brazile said, "it
can be a touchy subject."
When sociology professor and director of African American Studies
Stephanie Sears first glanced at the
question, she said, "I was like Oh my
God, did USF lose its mind?"
"It made me stop and think," she
said.
Why was USF asking participants
to provide their citizenship status,
ethnicity and race? Why did these
implications matter? After questions
like these provoked dialogue around
campus, the Foghorn set out to explore these issues and the significance of ethnic and racial identity.
Will USF Report My
Residential Status to the
Federal Government?
Shortly after participating in
USF's teach-in on the ethnic studies
ban in Arizona, Sears was shocked
when she saw the question, "Are you
a non-resident alien?" posted on USF
Connect. She said, "Even though I
know the term upon first glance it
reads like, Are you undocumented,'
and then I said ok that is not what
SURVEY: Continued on Page 2
Committee to Appoint New Dean in December
JAMEY V. PADOJINO
Staff Writer
Interviews for the College of Arts
8c Sciences search for a new Dean
has ended, and the future of the
college is now in the hands of the
Search Committee and President
Rev. Stephen Privett, S.J. The interviews, which began at the last week
of October to the middle of November, gave students, faculty, and numerous committees within the college the opportunity to learn more
about the finalists and ask questions
about' their professional background.
Each finalist comes from a different
background, but all want to contribute towards achieving USF's mission.
Gerardo Marin, Search Committee
Chair, said, "We hope to announce
the decision in December."
Marcelo Camperi
Dr. Marcelo Camperi is currently
the Interim Dean for the College of
Arts & Sciences at USF. He is also
s professor in the Department of
Physics and Astronomy and received
his doctorate in Theoretical/Mathematical Physics at Boston University.
Collectively, Camperi has spent fourteen years at USF serving in multiple
committees, including the Provost
Council, the College Curriculum
Committee, and Council for Associate Deans. "I embrace the University's Jesuit and Catholic identity and
its vision for Social Justice and a humanistic education for its students,"
Camperi said, "I am extremely excited at the possibility of giving back
to the University as the Dean of the
College of Arts and Sciences." Camperi has spent his professional career
at USF and wants to see the university rank amongst the top 50 nationally ranked colleges. If appointed
Dean, Camperi would "strive for
rigor and excellence in our academic
programs and aggressively seek to
make diverse, high-caliber full-time
faculty and staff hires to support this
goal." Camperi would also continue
to support environmental justice and
sustainability throughout the school.
Nicola Pitchford
Dr. Nicola Pitchford is currently
the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Fordham University in New York City. She received
her doctorate from the University of
Wisconsin-Madison in Modern &
2130 FULTON STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 941 L
Contemporary US and British literature. Her current position gives
her authority over the school with
supervision of administration. She
is also Associate Professor for the
Department of English at Fordham.
"San Francisco provides a unique opportunity that is deeply rooted in the
city," Pitchford said, "There's something about California with the mixture of racial groups and landscape
that brings me back here." When
speaking about the position, Pitchford, "would be most effective at the
Dean level because I would be at the
front line between students and faculty." With USF, at the edge of the
Pacific Rim, Pitchford said, "we can
connect students to the community
whether it's local or global." She believes there are many opportunities
SEARCH: Continued on Page 4
NEWSROOM 415.422.6122